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PM says relaxation will take effect from 11 October as Hong Kong scraps hotel quarantine measures for visitors

Activists say that the company’s own audits have been ineffective and workers receive inadequate safety protectionsWorkers and activists have been campaigning to push Levi’s, one of the world’s largest clothing brands, to sign on to an international accord for workers’ health and safety in Bangladesh and Pakistan.On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which housed five garment clothing factories, collapsed, killing 1,134 people and injuring approximately 2,500, in the deadliest disaster in the garment industry’s history. Continue reading...

NSW Labor leader claims he sacked his frontbencher via voicemail less than 24 hours after he asked her to produce evidence to back up her claims

Indigenous minister says ‘swirling emotions’ have included respect for monarch and memories of past discrimination

Han Lay appealed for help on social media after being stopped at Bangkok airport, saying Myanmar police there want to speak to herA Myanmar model who has spoken out against the military junta that seized power last year says she has sought help from the UN’s refugee agency after she was denied entry to Thailand.Han Lay, who was stopped at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok this week, asked for help in a Facebook post on Thursday night, saying Myanmar police were at the airport and trying to speak with her. Continue reading...

Threat comes as UN member states meet in Geneva amid pressure to take action on a damning report on abuse of UyghursA Chinese envoy to the United Nations has warned western nations and allies that Beijing is ready for a “fight” amid growing pressure for global action against China over its human rights abuses in Xinjiang.The threat follows the release of a report by the UN office of the high commissioner for human rights which found the government was likely committing crimes against humanity with its abuses of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang. Continue reading...

Stabbing triggers accusations that authorities are failing to take violence against women seriouslyThe murder of a South Korean woman who had been stalked by her alleged killer for years has sparked outrage and demands for changes in the law to better protect women.The woman’s murder in a bathroom at the subway station where she worked earlier this month has shocked South Korea, coming a day before her alleged attacker, named by police as 31-year-old Jeon Joo-hwan, had been due to be sentenced for stalking her. Continue reading...

Opposition leader warns against powers so extensive they result in ‘show trials’ as ‘good faith’ talks on bill continue

Sale of investment firm business secretary co-founded could result in multi-million pound payoutRiding through London in the back of a Rolls-Royce in the early 1980s, 12-year-old Jacob Rees-Mogg proudly declared his ambitions: “I’ve always wanted to be rich.”The besuited youngster, who was already an ardent supporter of then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher, calmly explained to a French reporter that he had put his plans in motion five years earlier when he invested a £50 inheritance in the shares of utility firm GEC. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Local authorities frequently breach legal duty to prioritise housing for abuse survivors, risking further danger or traumaPeople fleeing domestic abuse are being put in danger by local authorities who fail to provide housing for months on end, despite a law which should prioritise them, a new study shows.Increased legal protections are failing to prevent the “systemic” blocking of support to those fleeing abusive relationships, the report by the Public Interest Law Centrefound. The situation puts survivors of abuse at risk of further trauma or returning to an attacker, the research said. Continue reading...

Sharon Graham says she is needed amid ‘crescendo’ of pay negotiations, but calls for Labour to show it sides with workersSharon Graham, the boss of Unite, is planning to skip Labour’s conference for a second year in a row to prioritise current industrial disputes, and said the party should correct the impression that it’s “wrong” to be on the picket line.Graham, the general secretary for just over a year, has presided over 450 disputes over the last 12 months and counted the outcome on pay as a win in 80% of cases. She said strikes are “coming to a crescendo at the moment” because of the cost of living crisis, when every penny in people’s pay packets counts. Continue reading...

Settlement is the culmination of more than 30 years of fighting for reparationsIt took decades of fighting for reparations but a Māori tribe has finally secured a long-awaited apology and millions of dollars in redress for atrocities committed by the crown, including for its “indiscriminate” killings and “massive” alienation of tribal land.On Wednesday, a charter train wound its way down the spine of New Zealand’s North Island, picking up hundreds of Ngāti Maniapoto iwi (tribe) members. The iwi travelled for nine hours until they reached Wellington where, the next day, they joined many more members in the parliament’s public gallery to witness the Maniapoto claims settlement bill become law. Continue reading...

Murdoch’s barrister moves to strike out parts of Crikey’s defence, calling it ‘embarrassing and irrelevant’. Plus: Speers moves to the capital

CEO says company has not yet confirmed how many people were affected by hack, but 9.8 million was ‘worst case scenario’

ACT chief justice says potential jurors who have seen Higgins speak publicly on the allegations must ‘search their souls’ about impartiality in case against Bruce Lehrmann

In the first part of a new series, the Guardian journalist Sirin Kale takes us to a small town in the north of England to uncover how one man began a decade of cyberstalking

Coalition committed to respond in ‘early 2022’ but failed to do so, while Labor has not issued a full response since taking office

Annual Good Food Nation survey finds a fifth of Britons no longer turn on their oven to save moneyFamilies have crossed Sunday roasts, stews and home baking off the menu and in drastic cases no longer use their oven, as soaring energy costs force big changes in the kitchen.One in four home cooks said they were less likely to prepare a roast dinner, while a fifth were not baking as many cakes or biscuits, according to the annual Good Food Nation report. Continue reading...

Former cabinet minister urges Labour leader to be ‘restless for change’ and challenge ‘post-truth’ campaign by Truss governmentLiz Truss will mount a “post-truth” campaign presenting the Conservatives as the party of change at the next election, Peter Mandelson has warned, as he called on Keir Starmer not to “sit back” and assume automatic victory.While Labour has held a steady lead in the opinion polls for nine months, Starmer was urged by the former cabinet minister to “do a better job” of showing voters how the party has evolved under his leadership to cement its chances of entering government. Continue reading...

State enacts temporary insurance protections for a quarter-million homeowners in areas affected by recent blazesCalifornia temporarily banned insurance companies on Thursday from dropping customers in areas affected by recent wildfires, a day after evacuation orders were lifted for residents near a two-week-old blaze that’s become the largest in the state so far this year.Several days of sporadic rain helped firefighters reach 60% containment on the Mosquito fire in the Sierra foothills about 110 miles (177km) north-east of San Francisco. At least 78 homes and other structures have been destroyed since flames broke out 6 September and charred forestland across Placer and El Dorado counties. Continue reading...

If convicted, the Colombian singer faces an eight-year prison sentence and a fine of more than €23mThe Colombian singer Shakira, who is facing trial in Spain over allegations that she failed to pay €14.5m (£12.1m) in taxes, has accused the country’s fiscal authorities of waging “a salacious press campaign” against her and insisted she owes them nothing.According to Spanish prosecutors, Shakira and her family lived in Barcelona between 2012 and 2014, meaning she should have paid tax in Spain on her worldwide income for those years. They are seeking an eight-year prison sentence and a fine of more than €23m if she is convicted. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Constitutional review by Gordon Brown also recommends devolving economic powersLabour is considering abolishing the House of Lords and replacing it with an upper house of nations and regions, as well as handing sweeping new powers to local regions and devolved nations, a leaked report reveals.The constitutional review by the former prime minister Gordon Brown, which has been seen by MPs and shadow cabinet ministers, recommends devolving new economic powers including over taxation and creating new independent councils of the nations and for England.New tax powers for devolved government which could include stamp duty.Powers for local people to promote bills in parliament via democratically elected bodies.A constitutional guarantee of social and economic rights.Powers for mayors on education, transport and research funding. Continue reading...

ITV presenters could highlight the good causes they have helped, PR experts suggestQueen Elizabeth II’s funeral was an emotional event for many Britons. It allowed the nation to reflect on the passage of time, to deal with the loss of a historic figure, and to unite in criticism of the ITV presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby for supposed queue-jumping offences.The presenters of This Morning went from national sweethearts to national villains after they were accused of avoiding the eight-hour queue to see the Queen lying in state by entering Westminster Hall via a side entrance. Continue reading...

Multiple passengers say they have had nightmare experiences trying to retrieve lost baggage, but airline maintains its service is back to pre-Covid levels

Players’ association has backed calls for a club-by-club review in the wake of the Hawthorn racism allegations

The Prince and Princess of Wales were meeting volunteers and staff who worked on events surrounding the state funeralPrince William admitted he got “choked up” after seeing the Paddington Bear tributes to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.In his first engagement since her death earlier this month, the Prince of Wales met volunteers and staff who worked on the events surrounding the state funeral. Continue reading...

Company proposes Acas meeting as it threatens to tear up elements of nine-year deal with unionRoyal Mail’s row with employees over pay and conditions has escalated, with the company saying it is prepared to tear up elements of its nine-year deal with workers to push through a modernisation programme, prompting accusations of “Uberisation”.The company has written to the Communications Workers Union to propose that talks should be taken to the arbitration service Acas, but the CWU is yet to respond. Continue reading...

Border guards cite ‘exceptional’ number of people leaving the country after ‘partial mobilisation’ announcementRussia-Ukraine war – latest updatesHours after Vladimir Putin shocked Russia by announcing the first mobilisation since the second world war, Oleg received his draft papers in the mailbox, ordering him to make his way to the local recruitment centre in Kazan, the capital of the ​​Tatarstan republic.As a 29-year-old sergeant in the Russian reserves, Oleg said he always knew that he would be the first in line if a mobilisation was declared, but held out hope that he would not be forced to fight in the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Week-old legislation that severely limited procedure likely offended ‘liberty guarantees’ of state constitution, judge saysAn Indiana judge on Thursday blocked enforcement of the state’s abortion ban, putting the new law on hold as clinic operators argue it violates the state constitution.The Owen county judge, Kelsey Hanlon, issued a preliminary injunction against the ban that took effect a week ago. The injunction was sought by clinic operators who argued the state constitution protects abortion access. Continue reading...

Ronson Chan was arrested in September as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent and free expression in the cityThe head of Hong Kong’s journalists’ association will be allowed to travel to the UK for an Oxford fellowship after a court granted him bail and declined to place restrictions on his movement over a charge of obstructing police officers.Ronson Chan was arrested on 7 September while he was covering a residence meeting at a Hong Kong housing estate. Police allege he refused to provide ID and behaved in an “uncooperative” way despite multiple warnings, and he was charged this week. Chan has claimed innocence, saying he was within his rights to ask police for identification before he produced his. Continue reading...

Celia Marsh’s family say more people will die unless testing throughout food industry is improvedThe family of a woman with a severe dairy allergy who suffered a fatal reaction after eating a “vegan” Pret a Manger wrap contaminated with milk protein have warned that more people will die unless comprehensive testing throughout the food supply chain and better labelling is introduced.Celia Marsh’s family also said they believed the 42-year-old dental nurse would still be alive if a company that made a coconut yoghurt added to the wrap had informed Pret there was a risk it could have been contaminated because it was made in a factory that used milk. Continue reading...

Michoacán state suffers another temblor, felt as far away as Colima, Jalisco and Guerrero statesA powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake has struck Mexico, causing at least two deaths, damaging buildings and setting off landslides.The earthquake struck at 1.19am on Thursday near the epicenter of a magnitude 7.6 quake that hit three days earlier in the western state of Michoacán. It was also blamed for two deaths. Continue reading...

Pro-Russian separatists had held the prisoners – it was feared they would be executed for fighting for Ukraine

PM considering breaking with decades of British foreign policy by relocating UK embassy in IsraelLiz Truss has said she is considering relocating the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a controversial move that would break with decades of UK foreign policy in order to follow in the footsteps of Donald Trump.In a meeting on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York, the prime minister told Israel’s caretaker leader, Yair Lapid about a “review of the current location” of the building, Downing Street said in a statement. Continue reading...

Moscow releases 215 prisoners in exchange for former Ukrainian MP Viktor Medvedchuk and others

Du Yingzhe, a well-known tutor at a prestigious teaching academy, accused of abusing at least 19 studentsChinese police have detained a man over the alleged abuse of at least 19 former students at a prestigious tutoring academy, after a viral article outlined one of the country’s most shocking #MeToo cases in years.Du Yingzhe, 40, was a well-known tutor at Shadow Road, which assists high school students to get into the country’s best art and film schools. On Monday Du was accused by a former student of harassing, grooming and raping students, including some who were underage and a 17-year-old girl who fell pregnant. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Five short pieces of video removed from circulation under agreement between broadcasters and Buckingham PalaceBritish television channels gave Buckingham Palace a veto on the use of footage from Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, indicating the complicated relationship around the media’s coverage of the monarchy.As part of an agreement with news broadcasters, the royal household was given the right to request that particular pieces of footage from the funeral services at Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle were not used again. Continue reading...

Mayfield has eight ‘scary’ slides, one of which takes riders over the largely forgotten River MedlockManchester’s first new public park for 100 years opened its gates on Wednesday and has eight slides declared “so scary” by delighted children given the first go.One of the slides transports riders over the River Medlock, a largely forgotten Mancunian waterway which has been under concrete there for the last 150 years. Another offers what feels like a near-vertical drop – a tonic for those nostalgic for the days when playgrounds carried a genuine sense of peril. One has been made accessible for children in wheelchairs. Continue reading...

New Stormont elections are meant to be called soon – but they wouldn’t resolve the protocol standoffThe UK has given a six-month deadline for resolution of talks over the Northern Ireland protocol row, indicating Liz Truss is far more relaxed about the absence of a devolved government in Stormont than previously indicated.An April date for resolution of the Brexit row emerged after a meeting between the US president Joe Biden and the prime minister Liz Truss and coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday agreement. Continue reading...

Paul Zwillenberg steps aside for chairman, who is great-grandson of paper’s founder, Harold HarmsworthLord Rothermere is to take over as chief executive of the family newspaper business, which includes the Mail, i and Metro as well as New Scientist magazine, after ending the company’s 90-year run on public markets by taking its slimmed-down portfolio private.The 54-year-old, who chairs the 126-year old Daily Mail & General Trust business, will take over from Paul Zwillenberg, who has led the company for the past six years. Continue reading...

Demographic shift shown in census was expected but will still deliver psychological blow to unionistsCatholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland for the first time, a demographic milestone for a state that was designed a century ago to have a permanent Protestant majority.Results from the 2021 census released on Thursday showed that 45.7% of inhabitants are Catholic or from a Catholic background compared with 43.48% from Protestant or other Christian backgrounds. The 2011 census figures were 45% Catholic and 48% Protestant. Neither bloc is a majority. Continue reading...

Judge upholds conviction of Khieu Samphan, 91, in what is likely to be UN-backed court’s last judgmentCambodia’s UN-backed tribunal for the Khmer Rouge has upheld a genocide conviction against the regime’s last surviving leader, more than 40 years after Pol Pot’s brutal communist regime fell.The tribunal, known as the extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia (ECCC), rejected an appeal by Khieu Samphan, 91, in what was expected to be the final judgment by the court. Khieu Samphan, who was a former head of state, was found guilty of crimes against humanity, and grave breaches of the Geneva conventions, and of the genocide of ethnic minority Vietnamese in 2018. Continue reading...

Levy to compensate taxi licence holders for disruption of the industry by Uber forms part of $645m in payments as industry faces complete deregulation

Malaysian defence contractor fled before sentencing in US over bribery scheme that lasted more than a decade and involved dozens of US navy officersA Malaysian defence contractor nicknamed “Fat Leonard” who orchestrated one of the largest bribery scandals in US military history has been arrested in Venezuela after fleeing before his sentencing, authorities say.The international manhunt for Leonard Glenn Francis ended with his arrest by Venezuelan authorities on Tuesday morning at the Caracas airport as he was about to board an airplane for another country, the US Marshals Service said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Foreign minister condemns Russia’s heightened military response in Ukraine as opposition calls for further sanctions

Fifth of region’s population prevented from taking part in opportunities and communities around them, research findsMore than 3 million people in the north of England are at risk of social exclusion as a result of poor transport services, research has found.A fifth of people living in northern England are prevented from participating in the opportunities and communities around them because of poor mobility and connectivity, according to the report by the devolved government agency Transport for the North (TfN). Continue reading...

Celebrity livestreamer Li Jiaqi returns to screen after nearly four months of silence following a broadcast showcasing a tank-shaped dessertChina’s leading shopping livestreamer, Li Jiaqi, has returned to online commerce platforms almost four months after his feed was suddenly cut, which viewers suspected was linked to the errant appearance of a tank-shaped cake.Li, also known as the Lipstick King for his ability to move huge amounts of product on his sales channels, briefly appeared on Alibaba Group’s Taobao marketplace on Tuesday evening. Continue reading...

Approximately 40 flights due to land in or depart Sydney were cancelled on Thursday morning, leading to cancellations in Melbourne

Private Media says in court documents that ‘no one’ would read the words of the Crikey article literally